Kelso claim play-off place in rugby’s Scottish Premiership by handing out 48-12 hiding to Jed-Forest

Having not been within sight of the top four until mid-December and only making it into those play-off positions at the end of last month after spending much of the start of this campaign in the bottom half of the table, the Borderers, promoted as Scottish National League Division 1 champions last year, have now confirmed possession of fourth place with one match left to go.

Even the timing of kick-off for their Borders derby away to Jed-Forest on Saturday – 3pm, an hour later than play-off place challengers Heriot’s Blues, Edinburgh Academical and Musselburgh games against Glasgow Hawks, Currie Chieftains and Marr respectively – worked out well for head coach Kevin Utterson’s surprise package of a team as, with 20 minutes to go, they knew they could book a semi-final place there and then rather than having to wait until their rescheduled trip to Hawks on Saturday, February 17, at 2pm, to decide matters.

Heriot’s, Accies and Musselburgh’s losses by 19-10, 36-10 and 39-33 leave Kelso’s tally of 52 points from 17 fixtures out of reach even if Blues, the only one of them with a game left to play, can manage a bonus-point win at home to Selkirk on the 17th.

Jed remain bottom of the table, with five points from 17 fixtures, as they prepare for relegation to National 1, but this campaign’s whipping boys have got one last chance to avoid a whitewash and claim their first – and final – win of this season at home to second-from-bottom Hawks on Saturday, March 2, with kick-off at 3pm.

Kelso’s tries at Jedburgh’s Riverside Park were scored by winger James Thompson at the double, full-back Archie Barbour, lock Euan Thompson, winger Robbie Tweedie twice, centre Dwain Patterson and fly-half Murray Hastie, with Patterson adding four conversions.

Jed’s response consisted of tries touched down by winger Robbie Shirra-Gibb and lock Clark Skeldon and a conversion by fly-half Dom Buckley.

Hastie, also development officer at the Poynder Park club, was delighted to see his side secure a shot at the top-flight title at the first time of asking, telling Borders Rugby TV: “We were really, really happy with that but we want to push ourselves on further.

“We know we’ve got a big game at Hawks as well and we’ll be down training and pushing.

“I don’t think anybody believed we could get ourselves in that position but we fully believed we could and we’ve still got a job to do.

“We’re quietly confident in-house at Poynder. Things are going really well at the club just now.

“We just know ways to dog things out. We’re critical of ourselves but we’ll also take some plaudits.

“There are some really good guys coming through and as long as we’re adding to our squad so we’ve got youth and experience in there, we’ve got a really good balance.”

​Kelso will be up against Hawick away in this year’s play-offs and Hastie is confident they’ll give a better account of themselves than during their previous meetings with the table-toppers this season.

​The top flight’s new boys lost out to the Greens home and away earlier in the regular season now drawing to a close – by 28-20 in November and 61-7 in September respectively – but the Poynder Park veteran is confident his side will offer more in the way of opposition next month.

That semi-final, the first-ever all-Borders play-off, is yet to be scheduled but it’s expected to take place at Hawick’s Mansfield Park early in March.

Looking ahead to it, Hastie added: “Hopefully it’ll go a slightly different way to when we went there earlier in the season.

“That was almost like touch rugby at times there, but we are a better side than we were then – the league table shows you that and the games we’ve won, such as Marr and Currie at home, dogging results out and getting the crowd behind us.

“I’d like to think again we’ll have a massive crowd from Kelso come out to support us on the day.

“We’ll be a different beast to what we were in September. If we get the nuts and bolts right and we manage to get ball, we’ll get opportunities.

“We’ve got to be clinical against Hawick as we know what they’re bringing. They’re very physical and really strong at set-piece but we’re not far off matching that at times.

“It’s going to be a tight game and it’s just great that we’re still in the fight.”

See also …

https://www.thesouthernreporter.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/jed-forest-hoping-to-bow-out-of-rugbys-scottish-premiership-on-winning-note-says-club-stalwart-robert-hogg-4505670